This invention relates to vehicle washing, and particularly to an improved flexible and wettable washing strip for washing the exterior of an automobile or other similar vehicle.
Automatic vehicle washing installations are well known. The installations typically take one of two general forms. In one form, an automobile is moved by a conveyor through successive stations at which various washing operations take place, such as wetting, scrubbing, and rinsing. The second approach is to automatically perform these same operations upon a stationary vehicle. In both forms, it is now common for the vehicle surface to be contacted by strips of fabric, either woven or felted. The strips are wetted with water and spread detergent or other chemicals over the surface of the vehicle to clean the surface. The strips are either suspended from a framework or are attached to a mandrel to act similar to bristles of a brush when the mandrel is rotated.
One possible arrangement for vehicle washing using strips is shown in my earlier U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,199 issued Aug. 1, 1989, for "Automatic Vehicle Washing Apparatus". In that patent, the strips are in the form of sponge-like elements comprised of a central stiffening member surrounded by a fiber batting and held in place by a woven outer tube. This assembly is stitched together at spaced locations along its length to form a series of sponge-like elements.